Big Red Knives BBQ Collection:
Ah, spitting fires, smoking coals. On largest island that is also the smallest continent is there anything more Australian on this unique land than firing up the barbie and having a group of mates over for the arvo? These proudly Australian made and owned barbecue knives will elevate your outdoor cooking and dining experience to a level never before seen. Accessorise your Aussie dream with the manly and roguishly handsome Big Red Knives BBQ Collection. For knives like these, it’s not an expenditure, it’s an investment!
Carving Knife | The “Brolga” Knife
One of the largest flying birds in Australia, the Brolga is a majestic Aussie crane with a long neck and powerful beak. Designed to be a visual marvel and promised to not only carve meat but also carve an impression upon the audience. I would’ve said this knife belongs on the set of a Japanese flick like Seven Samurai or a Tarantino film except this knife is no prop piece. Designed and made in Australia by your local South Australian bladesmiths, and crafted with premium high-carbon VG-10 Japanese steel as the cutting edge with durable sand-blasted stainless steel protecting it, this beauty is not just a thing of beauty, but brawl and brains.
Use:
Form equals function for this knife. A real badass with its elegant long slender form, our Big Red Knives’ Brolga Knife has a distinctive narrow tip that is supported by a sharp long sturdy blade much like our unique Australian crane itself. Unlike some meat carvers this knife does not require a serrated edge, in fact it was designed with a clean straight edge as that does not tear apart the meat and instead retains more moisture after the slice. Made with our signature high-carbon VG-10 Japanese steel the cutting edge is honed to a razor-sharpness, guaranteeing a clean cut through your meats. The finer tip allows for high manoeuvrability when carving against the bone or between joints. Although designed for optimum functionality the result is also maximum drama. With a total length of 402mm this knife is bound to be a showstopper as you pull out that anticipated roast and carve it in front of your family or guests. Your indoor cooking or outdoor barbecue experience will be elevated to the status of legends and lore, like Excalibur was to King Arthur, Mjolnir was to Thor and a machine gun was to John McClane. Due to its generous blade length of 270mm you will have bountiful room for performing long luxurious slices back and forth with minimum sawing motion, producing beautifully cut appetising pieces of lamb, beef, pork, chicken or turkey. The hardness of our blend of premium Japanese steel and sandblasted stainless steel combined with the full-tang construction from blade to handle give this knife an unwavering sturdiness that also makes it a prime candidate to cut cold meats and fish.
The Australian Crane:
Featured on the Queensland Coat of Arms as the official bird emblem of Queensland the brolga is the iconic Australian crane that can be found commonly in family groups around Queensland, parts of western Victoria. Flocks of over 1,000 of these endearingly lanky fellows can be seen frolicking across floodplains in the tropics. It is one of the largest species of flying Aussie birds, its wing span reaching 2.5m (over 8ft). Brolgas are known for their elaborate mating rituals where intricate and ritualised dances are performed with sticks and leaves. Partners begin by snapping up grass, flinging it into the air before catching it mid-air with their long beaks like a teasingly enticing show of whipper-sniping. Leaping a metre into the air, they beat their wings before landing dramatically to start strutting, bowing and bobbing their heads like they are looking for something on the ground, then only to trumpet loudly as if to say, the one they were looking for was you, you all along.
Brolgas have a longevity in their relationships that we can all aspire to as like all crane species they mate for life! No wonder after such elaborate and invested mating ritual displays. Much like their commitment to each other, Big Red Knives is fully committed to our customers with our whopping 10 year warranty where we will readily replace any issues with the blades for 10 years. Bring a Brolga Meat Carver home and join the Big Red Knives family! On the topics of families, brolgas have tight family units where both parents care for the incubating eggs. Once hatched however, the young hatchlings can feed themselves almost immediately. Similarly once your family and friends see the the spectre of meats carved with the Brolga Knife they’ll clean off their plates without any time wasted. In any case, these connections may be tenuous and the quality of the knife is genuine!
BROLGA FACT: A fully grown brolga reaches the height of 1.4m tall (4’7) however there has been reports of male adults at the height of 1.8m (5’11). Tall enough to be a full-forward footy player!
Specs:
Collection: Big Red Knives BBQ Collection
Manufacturer: Koi Knives
Made in Australia with Japanese steel
Blade steel: VG-10 Japanese hard steel core with Stainless Steel cladding
Blade length: 270mm (overall 402mm)
Blade thickness: 3mm
Weight: 260gm
Handle length: 130mm
Handle wood: All local but varies from wood of olive trees, Shiraz grapevines from McLaren Vale (wine region of South Australia) to specially sourced wood Australian deserts.
Aussie Knives by Aussies:
“That’s not a knife, THAT’S a knife” now we all know the memorable quote from Crocodile Dundee but his Bowie knife though good for hunting is not ideal for use in the kitchen. In fact, as far as Aussie knives made by Aussies go and in the words of our bladesmith Shannon “there’s nothing like it that exists.”
We are a local Australian company of two, Shannon and Ramon. Our story began in the dry Adelaide Hills with our parents, Shannon’s father was a blacksmith and Ramon has an affinity with Japanese culture as his parents met in Japan. Combined with our love for knives, cooking and making things from local materials, we came up with a unique idea of making traditional Japanese knives with an Australian twist. Since then our company Koi Knives have been making knives for several years we have made a range of 12 Japanese knives. However, many have asked us to make a range of Western knives. Initially, we were hesitant as Western knives are made with softer steel, they tend to be less sharp and also blunt quicker. Where’s our true Aussie early settlers’ pioneering spirit we thought? This is not a challenge! This is an opportunity! We decided to give the idea a fair suck of the bottled sauce and a fair crack of the whip. From there we began designing and eventually crafting this new range. Instead of western steels, we stuck with a Japanese hard high-carbon VG-10 steel as the core of the knife but designed with a Western-style grip.
Our knife shed as our HMS Endeavour, we hit the shores of our expedition with this new set of Aussie knives. The first and finest truly Australian knives are crafted here locally by your two local blokes. We sought to pay homage to our land and our native animals with this set. To create a truly unique and Australia product the shape and form of each knife was modelled after a specially chosen iconic native animal which we also emboss onto the steel at the end.
Blade:
The core of the blade is made entirely of VG-10 is a type of Japanese hard steel, it is cutlery-grade steel with a high carbon content containing 1% Carbon, 15% Chromium, 1% Molybdenum, 0.2% Vanadium, and 1.5% Cobalt. The ‘G’ in VG-10 stands for Gold, as an indicator of the premium standard of quality. This core is then sharpened to razor sharpness and then cladded with the same steel for protection and longevity. After this, we smelt three layers of sandblasted stainless steel on the top section of the blade for a gun-mental steel finish. The sandblasting also on a practical level provide micro air cavities which prevent vegetables from sticking to the blade while cutting. The final result is like the Australian landscape in a blade, from the scorching sands to shimmering shore: from the spine, the darker sandblasted steel tapers down from the grind line to reveal shiny stainless steel before a dancing line glints off the clad edge to the razor-sharp cutting edge.
Handle:
These Aussie knives are part of our Full Tang Clan. Full tang is when the steel of the blade runs all the way through the handle instead of Partial Tang where the steel might end partway through. Full tang allows for more force to be applied without a risk of the knife snapping at the bolster (the base where the blade transitions to the handle). Our knives are very sharp so less force would have to be applied in any case, however, we chose the full tang design in keeping with the aesthetics of Western knives and to set this collection apart from our Japanese Koi Knives. Functionality was designed into the handle with different grips in mind to fit ambidextrously and snugly in your hand. When using a "Handle In Hand Grip" the bevel contours seamlessly from fingers to palm. When using the "Pinch Grip" the smooth transition from handle to blade forms a great comfortable position to pinch the knife.
One of the elements we are most proud of is our signature resin-infused handles crafted with local woods. Each handle is one of a kind and cannot be replicated. All the wood is sourced locally, typically in South Australia’s wine region and varies from the wood from olive trees to Shiraz grapevines, however we have even gathered Gidgee wood from the Simpson Desert. These handles are made with resin in a range of different colours, we feel very strongly about pairing certain colours to the animal that inspired the knife.
Maintenance:
After each use:
Simply wipe down in warm soapy water, dry and place on a knife rack away from humidity. Job done!
Long term maintenance:
Big Red Knives are made with a VG-10 Japanese steel core and therefore has a higher carbon content than the average Western kitchen knives. This lends the knives their particular long lasting sharpness, however they also like to be kept dry when not in use and should not be exposed extensively to heat, hot water or ambient high humidity. They should most definitely never be put into the dishwasher or other such nonsense. Each knife was made with love, so please take care of them for us!
Sharpening:
Knives made with a VG-10 Japanese steel core are harder at the edge, this means less honing is needed but should instead be professionally sharpened and ideally with a whetstone. Depending on frequency of use, the knife may need to be sharpened by a professional every 3-6 months for most people. We have an extensive list of sharpeners we can recommend in every state if you’d like to contact us.
Handle:
Similarly, the handle was crafted with resin and coated with a polish that also should not be soaked in hot water. Extended exposure to hot water may damage the polish on the handle that is the protective shield for the wood and resin. Over the years, if the handle starts to look a bit dull a small amount of furniture polish may be used to buff back the shine.
For more information on knife maintenance please see our page: https://www.koiknives.com/pages/maintenance
